Age of Conquest Reborn

Chapter 661: Test a move

The second phase of the battle outside Shijiazhuang started according to the original plan. The largest Japanese army group around Pingjin, originally intended to recapture Shijiazhuang, was repulsed to Suning by Tang Qiusheng's Sulu Mobile Corps with lightning speed.

On the Xianxian front line, facing the tidal offensive of the ** Division troops, the more than 100,000 Japanese troops, who were exhausted and had been hit repeatedly, were in a defensive state. The two sides launched fierce battles on the Suning and Xianxian front lines.

The purpose of the Sulu Mobile Corps' attack was not to completely annihilate the Japanese army. Tang Qiuli did not have such a big appetite to swallow hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops in one go. It was to tightly control the Japanese army's only heavy troop group around Pingjin.

He had to twist the enemy tightly so that the Japanese army could not get away. The purpose of his battle was to transfer the fat and oily Tianjin, and to transfer back Okamura Neiji who was fighting for his life at the Huangyadong base.

Three of the four brigades attached to Feng Jiwu's troops, which have always been regarded as strategic reserves by Tang Qiusheng, had secretly moved to the vicinity of Baoding a few days ago. Tang Qiusheng's order to them was to quickly attack the enemy in the shortest possible time.

Capture Baoding, where the Japanese garrison was empty, and turn eastward to participate in the attack on Tianjin.

The remaining brigade, attached to the Liu Chun Department of the 1st Cavalry Brigade of the ** Division, marched north to Huailai and the Xinbao front line, where it joined a brigade that had been monitoring the movements of the Japanese troops in Zhangjiakou. The operational targets were the Jibei, Pingbei, and Bashang grassland areas.

Disperse the Japanese troops stationed in Beijing, clear out the Japanese troops in Peiping, block the Japanese troops who may go south to join the battlefield in Tianjin, and wait for the opportunity to seize Zhangjiakou

In addition, Tang Qiusheng also detached three brigades from his own troops and attached them to the Tong Batu Division of the Second Cavalry Brigade of the ** Division to form an attack corps, led by Chief of Staff Yu Guanghan, passing through the Beijing-Tianjin Corridor with the goal of taking Rehe

Chengde, the provincial capital, and then moved south to cut off the connection between Northeast China and North China and attack Tianjin.

Tang Qiusheng organized six infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade to attack the Tianjin Corps. The only thing that worried him was that the more than 60,000 Japanese troops in Zhangjiakou, two infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade, were still smaller than the Japanese army. If

This group of Japanese troops marching south to the vicinity of Pingjin is definitely a threat to our troops in any direction.

In fact, Tang Qiusheng was singing about the empty city strategy. The troops attacking the Japanese army on the front lines of Suning and Xianxian County only had five brigades with more than 60,000 troops. Compared with the hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops, their strength was at an absolute disadvantage. However, he

With the cooperation of the air force and the fact that the Japanese army had been beaten so badly that they would not be able to react for a while, there would be no problem for the time being.

There was nothing that could be done about it. All the troops of the Japanese Army were entangled with the Japanese army, and there were no troops to mobilize. With Tang Qiusheng's steady and cautious character, he took this dangerous move as a last resort. He still hoped to attack Zhangjiakou

of Japanese troops

, increased the pressure so that they would not dare to act rashly. For this reason, he sent a telegram to the division commander Tang Qiuli, suggesting that he coordinate the Jin army to attack Zhangjiakou and contain the Japanese army so that they could not join the Tianjin battlefield separately. Then the Tianjin battle,

It ensures no worries.

Looking at the telegram, Tang Qiuli was quite hesitant. With six infantry brigades and a cavalry brigade of more than 70,000 troops, they attacked the huge Tianjin. The troops were obviously insufficient, and the Japanese garrison in Tianjin only had the strength of one division.

,

But that was one of the Japanese's lairs in North China. The city's military and police officers, plus the puppet troops and traitor armed forces, numbered no less than hundreds of thousands of people. The Japanese troops outside Shijiazhuang and Cangzhou could send troops to support Tianjin at any time.

The battle is not easy to fight.

As for Yan Xishan's Jin army, Tang Qiuli has had enough dealings with them. If the Jin army can contain the Japanese army in Zhangjiakou and attack the troops in Tianjin, they can reach eight infantry brigades and two cavalry brigades with more than 100,000 troops.

, fight Tianjin

Enough. Yan Xishan's Jin army could not be commanded by Tang Qiuli. The situation was so good that they could not intercept the Japanese troops fleeing west, let alone take the initiative to attack Zhangjiakou. Yan Xishan would not lose money like this.

of trading.

He knew Brother Qiu Sheng's worries. There were less than 180,000 troops in total, but they had to be divided into several battles. The troops in that direction were all weak, but Tianjin had to fight. Yan Xishan couldn't count on it, so he could only mobilize troops from Shandong.

, the campaign can be divided into two stages. In the first stage, attack Baoding first to see Neji Okamura’s reaction, and then capture Tianjin in the next stage.

After reading Tang Qiusheng's telegram, he made some adjustments to the combat plan. The order he issued to the Sulu Mobile Corps was that the current combat mission was to attack Baoding. The purpose was to test Okamura Neji's reaction before making a decision.

The next direction of the operation is for the remaining troops to continue to clear out the Japanese troops outside Pingjin and advance to the northeast. The order of Liu Tiehan's troops is to quickly mobilize troops from five brigades and march westward to the Baoding area to join the attack on the Tianjin troops.

Three brigades from Li Honggang's 29th Corps of the **Division and two brigades from Han Tie's Department of the Yellow River and Henan Garrison Corps of the **Division are temporarily under the command of Liu Tiehan, deputy commander of the **Division and commander of the East Point.

Take it easy, once the war breaks out in Tianjin

The Japanese army in Cangzhou will never sit idly by. The main task of Liu Tiehan's troops is to maintain strong pressure on the Japanese army in Cangzhou and never let the Japanese troops reinforce Tianjin. Without enough troops, the East Point troops decisively

Difficulty completing tasks.

Tang Qiuli once again used all the troops in his hand. He pressed the flea with ten fingers, but he couldn't relax. Seeing that there were only four brigades with more than 50,000 troops defending the huge Shandong, Tang Qiuli felt a pang in his heart.

I feel weak. If the Japanese land at any port in Shandong at this time, it will be too late for me to cry.

Thinking of this, I hate Yan Xishan with all my teeth. If he had actively dealt with the Japanese army in Zhangjiakou, why would he have mobilized troops from Shandong? This made me feel unsure. This Yan Laoxi must be killed. Shandong reinforced the Pingjin battlefield.

While his troops were still on the way, Tang Qiuli issued combat orders to attack Baoding, Huailai, Xinbaoan, Fengning, and Chengde.

The units of the Sulu Mobile Corps and the attached Niangziguan Corps launched surprise attacks on their respective combat targets at the same time, attacking Huailai and Xinbao's troops. After more than three hours of fierce fighting, they comprehensively conquered both places.

The Japanese army was no more than a brigade, but there were nearly 10,000 puppet troops. These puppet troops had taken some kind of Japanese drug, and they beat them even more fiercely than the Japanese soldiers.

Staring with blood-red eyes, they fought with the troops house by house. Unfortunately, the weapons the Japanese equipped them with were not very good. Under the overwhelming artillery fire of the ** division troops, the Japanese troops retreated. These

However, the puppet troops were used as scapegoats to cover the retreat of the Japanese troops. Most of the Japanese troops in the two brigades escaped and ran in a panic toward Zhangjiakou. The troops did not pursue them.

With the conquest of Huailai and Xinbaoan, the connection between Zhangjiakou and Pingjin has been cut off. Zhangjiakou has become an isolated city in northwest Hebei. More than 60,000 Japanese troops have no way out. Then, the troops are divided into multiple routes, and the main force

Go north to attack Fengning, and the rest

The troops swept all the way across Pingbei. The Japanese strongholds were turned into tombs for their burials in the artillery fire. During this period, they only encountered resistance from the cavalry troops of the Mongolian Autonomous Army of the traitorous prince, Gong Dewang, but Liu Chun's cavalry brigade.

Many war horses and prisoners were sent.

Yu Guanghan, chief of staff of the Sulu Mobile Corps, led three infantry brigades and Tong Batu's second cavalry brigade, marching overnight through the Beijing-Tianjin Corridor.

The Japanese strongholds and checkpoints were all taken out. When they entered the outskirts of Chengde, they encountered King De's cavalry unit, which consisted of a cavalry brigade.

According to the order of the Japanese instructor, this cavalry brigade rushed to the Xinglong area of ​​​​the Beijing-Tianjin Corridor to block the northward advancing Japanese division troops. When setting off, in order to monitor these Mongolian men, each company was equipped with six Japanese officers.

He took over full command and even brigade commander Bagena stepped aside.

The person who took over the command was a Japanese cavalry major. After all, Bagena also had the rank of major general, but he was shouted at and scolded by this little Japanese. The guards of Bagena couldn't stand it and contradicted him.

A few words, this is a big deal

It was a hornet's nest. The Japanese major had to shoot this Mongolian who dared to contradict the officers of the Imperial Japanese Army. Thanks to Bagena and many other officers, he begged and was whipped. He finally saved his life. The whole brigade was stifled.

Take a breath.

Despite repeated urgings and scoldings from the Japanese officers, the cavalry still marched slowly and dilly-dally. The cavalry reached the speed of walking out of a baggage unit. They were originally planning to establish a blockade line on the Xinglong line. However, due to the rapid progress of Tong Batu's cavalry, a large number of cavalry troops were encircled on the outskirts of Chengde.

Encountered Tong Batu's troops in the Zhangzi area.

Both sides were cavalry, and both were Mongolian men who grew up on horseback. Their reactions were not slow. The leading platoons suddenly collided with each other and drew their sabers almost at the same time. After a round, there were casualties on each other, but the Second Cavalry Brigade had the upper hand.

They circled the horses' heads, and when they heard the orders given to each other, they couldn't help but stop their hands. I'm sorry, we are all Mongolians.

The situation was quickly reported to their respective commanders. Tong Batu frowned. He was surprised to see that the puppet Mongolian army was a compatriot. Thinking about his past, like them, he was lucky to meet such a heroic figure like his division commander.

After changing his life, Tong Batu made up his mind to recruit these compatriots who worked for the Japanese.

The Japanese commander who received the report only gave an order of "Give me the opportunity to kill". The cavalry on both sides lined up to confront each other. When they saw the guy, the Pseudo-Mongolian cavalry were dumbfounded. The cavalry unit on the opposite side had more guys than they knew.

How many times have it happened? Just the light machine guns in the hands of the cavalry in the front row can't be seen at a glance. The cavalry in the back are actually holding mortars, and most of them have submachine guns slung across their bodies. God, this is still a cavalry unit.

? The entire field infantry equipment?

That's right, this is Tang Qiuli's standard equipment for the cavalry troops of the First Division. Not only can they move quickly, but they can also fight tough battles and defensive battles. Unknowingly, chills rise in the hearts of the Pseudo-Mongolian cavalry. The cavalry charges and the opponent bursts with bullets.

When the rain comes, how many brothers are left who can ride on the horse?

The Japanese instructor's shouts and curses were particularly harsh. Under the nascent sun, nearly ten thousand cavalrymen faced off against each other. Their scabbards shone darkly in the sunlight. The atmosphere was extremely tense.

(To be continued)